This article reviews the applications of traditional glasses in architecture, transportation, construction, houseware, containers, and fibers. It also describes uses of specialty glasses for aerospace and military applications, biomedical and dental applications, chemical-resistant applications, lighting, information display, electronic processing and electronic devices, optical and ophthalmic products, and communications equipment.

The large majority of the commercially important glasses are processed from a carefully calculated batch of raw materials that is then melted in special furnaces. Providing an introduction to melting practices of glass production, this article focuses on various finishing methods of glass products, including forming, grinding and polishing, and explores the advantages, disadvantages and steps involved in sol-gel process. It also discusses the types, processes and properties of annealed, laminated, and tempered glass, and presents the steps involved in glass decoration. The article gives a detailed account of production, properties and application of fiberglass, optical fibers, glass spheres and ceramic glasses, and describes the forms, classification, compositions and properties of glass/metal and glass-ceramic/metal seals.

The optical fiber preform is a long cylinder of glass that contains core and cladding glasses. This article describes the relationship between the peak furnace temperature, fiber draw tension, and fiber draw speed. It focuses on temperature requirements such as product viscosity, hot zone length, temperature profile, and heating cycle to draw the glass. The article provides information on process gases in the draw induction furnace, insulation package for induction heating operations, and furnace design and scalability. It reviews the key factors for the selection of susceptor materials, namely, cost, temperature cycling, and the impact on the product.

This article describes the chemical composition, physical properties, thermal properties, mechanical properties, electrical properties, optical properties, magnetic properties, and chemical properties of glasses, glass-matrix composites, and glass-ceramics.

This article discusses the fracture behavior of silicate glasses, more specifically, soda-lime-silicate glass, borosilicate glass and vitreous silica. It analyzes the testing and calculation of dynamic fatigue and slow-crack-growth for lifetime prediction of glasses. The article illustrates the phenomenon of static fatigue and concludes with a discussion on the role of surface damage in strength and fatigue behavior.

This article provides an overview of the types, properties, and applications of traditional and advanced ceramics and glasses. Principal product areas for traditional ceramics include whitewares, glazes, porcelain enamels, structural clay products, cements, and refractories. Advanced ceramics include electronic ceramics, optical ceramics, magnetic ceramics, and structural ceramics.

This article focuses on the ceramic coatings for ceramic and glass substrates. It describes the role of oxides in glazes and discusses the optical and appearance properties of various types of glazes, such as leadless glazes, lead-containing glazes, opaque glazes, and satin and matte glazes. The article provides information on the classification of pigments and the applications of ceramic coatings for decorations on ceramic and glass surfaces.

Induction heating for glass melting is an alternative to resistance heating element furnaces. This article provides information on the basics of glass fabrication process. It focuses on crucible melt furnace for small-scale glass melting and the induction melting process. It also describes induction glass forming (forming from the melt) and glass forming by induction heating (post-melt). The article compares the benefits of using induction heating and refractory-lined resistance heating.